We are afraid of what we do not understand. Please understand Palestine, and help me to show others the truth of Palestine too. This is important, because when we get to know people, we make friends with them. And we do not kill our friends.
Blog est. Feb.13th.2009

Friday, 13 February 2009

I'm setting off with a convoy of aid lorries on Saturday for Gaza via Spain and North Africa. I'm taking medicines and fire proof suits donated by the Fire Brigade Union.

There are about one hundred vehicles and we hope that the sheer weight of numbers will compel Israel to open the gates to the hell that is Gaza, and let us deliver it...

...I would like blog readers to help me raise the cash to complete this trip and if they wish to do so they can leave (or post) donations at Alexanders Bar, Rufus Court Chester CH1 2JW. A receipt will be issued.

I previously travelled to Gaza on the siege breaking boat the Dignity which was subsequently rammed and smashed by Israeli patrol vessels. That was in October just before Israel made the first small invasion that broke the ceasefire that had held for five months prior. That was on November 4th. and the Israelis killed six.

The reality of life in Israel shown in the elections by the swing to the even more extreme right and the rampant increase in racism against Arabs - 'gas Arabs' is popular graffiti - means that Israel is going to continue to do what it has always done since it was first allowed to begin colonising Arab lands by the Balfour declaration of 1917. It is going to continue to bring settlers in from foreign countries to force Palestinians off their lands yard by yard. Forcing those Palestinians to crowd into refugee camps (80 per cent of Gazans are refugees from stolen land in Israel) where it will kill them if they try to fight back.

All Israel has to do to have a ceasefire is to remove the blockade on Gaza and allow the Palestinians to live like human beings. But it will not stop killing Palestinians until it has driven them out of Palestine completely or until we stop appeasing Israel and start taking action against it.

A huge convoy of over 110 vehicles will leave London for Gaza on Saturday, delivering more than £1 million worth of aid, including ambulances and a fire engine.

The size of the convoy and the amount of aid it is carrying have exceeded the expectations of the organisers, grouped under the umbrella Viva Palestine and supported by many Muslim organisations as well as the Stop the War Coalition.

The convoy will travel 5,000 miles through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, crossing into Gaza at Rafah in early March.

Hundreds of volunteers are driving the aid convoy, which includes 12 ambulances, a boat and trucks full of medicines, tools, clothes, blankets and shoe-boxes as well as gifts for children.

Respect MP George Galloway, who will help drive the convoy, said: "There is an intifada sweeping Britain. It is a massive and peaceful movement in support of the beleaguered population of Gaza and Palestine.

"It is happening everywhere, but is especially strong in the north of England and especially among young Muslims.

"This convoy is material manifestation of it. In barely a month, it has metamorphosed from an aspiration I threw out at the 100,000 strong pro-Palestine demonstration on 10 January to more than 100 vehicles and nearly 300 people from across Britain.

"We will lead the biggest convoy of British vehicles across North Africa since Montgomery."

A Walk Around the Loss of Innocence - Children's Art from Gaza - Exhibition

Welcome. What are we trying to do, and how you can help.

*Giving Children a voice: Everyone in Gaza is Traumatised by the Israeli onslaught. There was nowhere to run to, and nowhere to hide. When Decent people see how it has affected Children in particular, they want to do something about it. I have brought a travelling exhibition of Children's Paintings to the UK, and you can see the dates that it is booked on the Chester and Palestine Exchanges website www.cape.uk.net

For the posts in the blog about the collection of the children's paintings from Gaza click here.

*The Campaign to open the Gates of Gaza, and end the siege, is of course wider than the Art Van. It is fundamental. Gaza is not even a prison, it is regarded by the Israelis as a Zoo. Any complaint from the Lions caged up here is met by death through the Bars. Honestly, there is nothing more important in all the world than ending this siege, where one set of people treat another as sub-humans, and seem to be supported by the country where you live. Please tell Your Friends, together we can make a difference. Link to this blog.

*The pictures show attacks by the Israeli army on civilians. While the Israelis claim they are fighting a just war they are suppressing any evidence to the contrary. The pictures reveal evidence of bombs that tear off arms and legs, and of the widespread use of Bulldozers in the frontline, demolishing houses to bury people alive, as well as destroying agricultural land, so they could be evidence of War Crimes, too.

**What we need to achieve is a wider awareness of Isreal's crimes, and I hope that seeing the Exhibition will encourage schools and others to link with counterparts in Gaza. We have few resources in CAPE but we will try to put you in touch if you ask, otherwise Twinning with Palestine is the group to contact.

After the Britain-Gaza aid convoy ended in March 2009. Rod, the 'peace man' stayed in Gaza - visited schools and won hearts. Young people gave him hundreds of pictures.
He tried to bring the pictures back to Europe but was refused permission to leave via Rafah. The Egyptian government would not allow him and his van to enter Egypt from Gaza.
Rod said 'Every other exit, including any postal or courier service is controlled by Israel, who have said pictures from school children cannot be sent out if they are political. No agency is able to take them out legally without the Israeli army looking at them.'
'These pictures show the attacks by the Israeli army on civilians as well as phosphorous bombs and the role of Palestinian fighters. While the Israelis claim they are fighting a just war they are suppressing any evidence to the contrary.'
Specialists say showing these pictures is one way of supporting children's mental health and their survival.